


Unexpected

by turtlesparadise



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:26:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6133738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtlesparadise/pseuds/turtlesparadise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short drabble in which the latest crop of Balamb Garden cadets meet Mr. Aki for their first class with the imposing instructor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected

The cadets were quiet, most of them paying rapt attention to Aki’s lecture – or doing a pretty good job of faking it. It was Aki’s third term of teaching, and he’d found his niche, teaching hand-to-hand combat, fencing, and martial arts, along with basic magic and junctioning. He’d also gained a reputation as the strictest and most unbending instructor in all of Balamb Garden.

  
Strict though he was, Aki was not outright cruel to students; he wanted them to respect their instructors, each other, and Garden’s code of conduct, which most did.  
Except, of course, for Seifer Almasy. Aki breathed a silent prayer of thanks that Seifer wasn’t in this class, disrupting things as he'd done last term.  And the one before that.  Aki was quite happy with the latest crop of students assigned to him; they all seemed to want to be here, which was helpful.

  
Today they’d gathered in the training room, all of the cadets standing in formation on a mat, spaced out several feet from one another. All eyes followed as Aki walked up and down the breadth of the room, and then stared straight ahead as he began to walk up and down the rows, sizing up each student physically. Some of them seemed fit and strong to begin with; others would need a bit of work.

  
“The first rule of engagement - can anyone tell me what that is?” Aki eyed the nearest cadet as he spoke; Nida, his name was, a local kid. He was quiet, diligent, and unassuming. He was, actually, Aki’s favorite kind of student - one who _listened_.

  
Unfortunately and unbeknownst to Nida, he was also about to be part of Aki’s lesson plan.

  
“…..anyone?” Aki’s voice echoed throughout the training room as several voices rang out with what they believed was the correct answer.

  
_“Never turn your back on an enemy, sir!”_

  
_“Strike first, strike fast, sir!”_

  
_“Always prepare your gear before heading out into battle!”_

  
Aki smiled, nodded. “All very valid points, yes. But – the point I’m about to show you is something else entirely.”

  
He continued to walk, slowly and methodically between the rows of students, first faking out Squall, then Selphie, before lunging at Nida with a flying roundhouse kick. He knocked him flat on his back, pressed an elbow slightly against his throat as he knelt over him – not hard enough to cut off Nida’s air, of course, but certainly enough to catch him off guard, pinning him to the mat.

  
“Always expect the unexpected.” He released his grip on Nida, held out a hand to help him up, and smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I am probably one of the few people ever who's taken a stab at writing and roleplaying Aki. I actually don't know if anyone has ever actually written about him in a fanfic, other than a passing mention. 
> 
> My version of him will probably vary a bit from what little we see of him during his thirty seconds of screen time in the game. Obviously my background for him is going to be 100% headcanon since there is literally NOTHING known about Aki except that he wears a horribly unflattering suit in the game, and seems to have some weird sort of radar where he just KNOWS when students are showboating or casting magic when they shouldn't be. 
> 
> Feedback is welcome! I am dipping my toe back into this fandom after a decade long absence, so I know I'll be a bit rusty to start.


End file.
